By Michael S. Derby
(Reuters) -The Federal Reserve said Friday that Governor Adriana Kugler is resigning early from her term and will exit the central bank on Aug. 8, potentially shaking up what was already a fractious succession process for Fed leadership amid difficult relations with President Donald Trump.
The Fed said in a statement that Kugler, who became a governor in September 2023, will leave before her term’s conclusion, which was scheduled for Jan. 31, 2026. In a press release, the Fed said Kugler will return to Georgetown University as a professor next autumn.
Kugler did not attend this week’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee meeting, which is unusual.
Kugler’s early exit may shake up the timeline for the succession process now surrounding Chair Jerome Powell, whose term ends next May. Trump has threatened to fire Powell repeatedly believing interest rates should be much lower than they are.
Trump will now get to select a Fed governor to replace Kugler and finish out her term. Some speculation had centered on the idea Trump might pick a potential future chair to fill that slot. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the Fed appointment.
In a letter to Trump announcing her resignation, Kugler wrote “I am proud to have tackled this role with integrity, a strong commitment to serving the public, and with a data-driven approach strongly based on my expertise in labor markets and inflation.”
Kugler’s time at the Fed was a challenging one as central bankers raised rates aggressively to combat high inflation pressures. Those high rates have put them in the crosshairs of Trump and have caused economic challenges, although inflation pressures have moved much closer to the 2% target.
(Reporting by Michael S. Derby; Editing by Andrea Ricci and Chizu Nomiyama )
